Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez coauthored Your Money or Your Life in 1992, a now-classic finance book about liberating yourself from debt, waking up to obsessive materialism, and learning to be financially self-sufficient.

Anyone interested in becoming financially independent and retiring early needs to ask one big question first: Who are you without your job? What would you do with your life if income were not the focus?

The biggest myth? Retiring is not the end of work; it's only the end of your job. It is not free time forever. Vicki Robin warns that people who don't know what to do with their time may be headed for an identity crisis.

If you want to free yourself from the consumer culture and economic constraints, you have to achieve financial independence, says author Vicki Robin.

If you want to free yourself from the consumer culture and economic constraints, you have to achieve financial independence, says author Vicki Robin. She lays out her 3-step plan towards achieving that freedom over money and finding your "happy life number" - how much money it costs you to have a happy life.

There is a point when you have enough of what you need, says author, speaker, and social innovator Vicki Robin.

There is a point when you have enough of what you need, says author, speaker, and social innovator Vicki Robin. And anything past that is just overindulgence and doesn't take into account your environmental impact. Once you become aware of your financial sweet spot and how much you really need to consume, you will naturally spend less and be happier.

Vicki Robin

Vicki Robin is a prolific social innovator, writer, and speaker. She is coauthor with Joe Dominguez of the international best-seller, Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence (Viking Penguin, 1992, 1998, 2008, 2018).